European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Iraklion s medical Samaritans emergency care for greeks tourists by j. King Cruger Mediterranean Bureau the Quick and the dead Are dumped Day and night at the front Gate of Iraklion air station on the greek Island of Crete. The Quick Are Quick no longer. Some have had limbs ripped off in horrific Road accidents others have been crushed in construction accidents or Are in the grip of cardiac arrest. The people Are brought to the . Air Force installation by family members hotel keepers and More often than not strangers. The victims arrive in taxis in cars and in the Back of three wheel vans. Greece has a Law requiring people to bring Accident victims to the nearest medical facility. And the word is out in certain towns and villages that Iraklion air station is the Best place on Crete to bring anyone in dire need of medical help. The air station 10 Miles East of Iraklion Crete a largest City has one of the smallest hospitals in the air Force. Although the 7276th air base group Hospital is Small quiet it is not. A on a routine basis we see More trauma victims than probably any other american military medical facility in Europe Quot said maj. Edith Sandoval chief of nursing services. Last year the hospitals acute care service an extensively outfitted emergency room treated about 300 patients mostly trauma victims who had been deposited at the base Gate. Quot this year the numbers Are running about even Quot said maj. Terry Mccullough 41, the Hospital s administrator. The Hospital keeps three ambulances ready at All times. One responds solely to emergencies on base or to civilian victims brought to the base Gate. Security police at the Gate have a direct phone line to the Hospital s acute care service. Quot the ambulance arrives at the Gate a minute or two after we receive the Call from Security police Quot Mccullough said. Quot most trauma victims we see Are Young tourists in their 20s. Many Are victims of accidents in which alcohol is involved in some Way Quot said Mccullough a native of Valdosta a. Accident victims Wash up at the Gate in two distinct Waves said Sandoval. The first wave comes when people Are coming Back from area beaches. The second hits As bars and restaurants close. Crete s roads Are Slick twisting and mountainous. Mopeds driven by inexperienced riders without protective gear contribute greatly to Road carnage. Victims arrive at the Gate at an alarming rate. A crash involving a Van and two cars on a sunday night Early in August yielded four victims. Quot we had two simultaneous runs the week before that. One involved a broken leg from a car crash and the other in a was for a Man with a smashed in face. He Wasny to breathing when he was brought to the Gate and he later died in a greek Hospital Quot said Sandoval 38, a resident of los Angeles. When the hospitals ambulances get overtaxed the base fire departments Rescue service also responds to summons from the Gate. The hospitals staff of 87 includes three physicians. In addition to their regular patient loads or. Maj tristan e. Kohut or. Maj Gene Kasegrande and or. Capt Bert plaster must also take turns staffing the acute care service. All Are graduates of the american College of surgeons advanced trauma life support course. Each of the three doctors is on acute care sen ice Call every third night. Quot during the summer we can expect to be called in two or three times a night Quot said Kohut 34, from Boyertown a. The acute care service treated 68 patients in july alone. Kohut is particularly proud of a Case in which a we saved the life of a fellow who was in deep Shock following the amputation of a foot. A bus took off one foot and crushed the  the acute care service Aims to stabilize Quot Gate Patien As quickly As possible and then whisk them by Ambujam to a greek Hospital in Iraklion. Security cops often work alone at the main Gate. Quot you think you Are prepared for it but when a Guy arrives with his foot Cut off it comes As a Shock Quot said tech. Sgt. Ricardo Rodriguez who has been a Security policeman at Iraklion for nine months. In that time the 27-year-old from Bethlehem pa., has seen More than 40 trauma cases Quot everything from compound fractures to cracked  the Security guards keep a first Aid kit and rubber gloves in their Gatehouse Quot we treat for Shock or administer car Quot said staff sgt. Brian Beauty a 26-year old policeman from Gibson la. Quot it bothers you when you have worked on someone an they done to make it Quot said another guard sgt. Mary Smith 38, from Phoenix . Quot sometimes you just want to retch your guts out before during or after treatment but you just have to keep on  a amps Peter Jaeger at left maj. Edith Sandoval chief of nursing services explains emergency procedures which often Start when Gate guards such As senior airman Crystal Culp receive an Accident victim. At right above the base fire department aids the overtaxed ambulance service. A amps photos by Ken George Vav Quot a senior airman Crystal Culp estimates she has seen 200 trauma trauma victims in the three years she has been a policewoman at Iraklion. A it took me a Long time to get Over my first one a doa who had been struck by a bus but the others Haven to bothered me nearly As much Quot said the 21-year-old military dog handler. On his first night on Gate duty 16 months ago airman 1 St class William Smith was faced with a victim with a fractured Skull. Quot the worst injury i had Ever seen before that was a Cut on my foot. The serious injuries still bother me especially victims who Are conscious like the Young French girl begging me to put her to sleep Quot said Smith 20, from Columbia . Fifty three year old Bobby a Tsagarakis a greek has been working for the Security police As an interpreter at the Gate since 1965. He reckons he a seen 2,000 sick maimed and dead delivered to the Gate in that time. He has nothing but Praise for the base Hospital. Quot this medical facility is very important to this part of the Island for both greeks and tourists Quot he said. Antennae Rise from the air station outside Iraklion where col. Richard t. Lee is commander of the 7276th air base group. Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes Quot Quot a a a a tuesday october 990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15